Córdoba... and still no internet.

Hello, hello, hello!

I'm back in the library today, but since it's not so crowded and the internet is actually letting me use blogspot today, I figured it was time for some updates!

Jim, Kirstin, and I spent the last weekend in Córdoba! It was pretty cool, especially the historic mezquita/catedral. It was originally a cathedral, then became a GIANT mosque, then was retaken as a cathedral and is currently used as a cathedral for practicing purposes, but called a mesquita for tourism purposes. It was HUGE, and the pillars and arches inside were absolutely amazing. Arabic art is very beautiful to me. Since Muslims cannot put pictures of anything living in their places of worship, they use intricate architecture and carvings of Arabic words and prayers as decorations. It really is quite beautiful. I often look at them and wonder if they were all done by the same person, or at least designed by the same person and executed by many... it seems like one person working would take far too long for it to ever be used because he would die before he was done, but they are all so perfectly similar that it looks like the same set of hands did all of it. That's not just in the mezquita though... In the Alhambra, in all the old cathedrals... it's just remarkable to me.

Another thing. In one of my MMW classes back at UCSD (MMW = Making of the Modern World. It was basically a 6-quarter series of human/world history/anthropology/sociology from the dawn of homo sapien until the present day), one of my professors (Professor Herbst! He was AWESOME!) mentioned that the ideals of certain religions are often reflected in their architecture. In cathedrals, your eyes are constantly drawn up, and on the top of the tall, tall, tall buildings there will be stained glass, paintings, carvings, etc. to remind you that God is up there. If you look up, you find God. Mosques, on the other hand, tend to be more flat, tend to draw your eye forward. That's because they aren't looking for God in their places of worship, they're seeing/putting God in their path/world. Also, Islam is more directional. They pray facing Mecca rather than looking at the sky. Things like that. Anyway, in the mezquita, you can really feel that. You go to a Catholic part of the mezquita and you find yourself looking up, into the domed ceilings and up into the eyes of a painted Jesus or angel, while in the mosque part, you are looking forward, through an arch decorated by some Arabic prayer.

I thought it was interesting. Figured I would share it. I will probably steal some of Kirstin's pictures eventually to help illustrate it.

Anyway, we also saw the Roman bridge. It was really big and very old. There were also a lot of ducks hanging out underneath it. A little white dog went NUTS and almost jumped off the bridge to get them. Luckily, she was wearing a harness and her owners picked her up. Stupid dog.

A common type of street performer in the touristy parts of Spain are people that paint themselves like statues and stand perfectly still. In Córdoba, we saw one that held a painted bullhorn. He would push the noisemaking buttons every so often, and would even do a kind of dance with the noises it made if someone gave him money. Of course, this was a huge hit with little kids crossing the bridge. He even twirled a couple of little girls around after they gave him some coins. It was very sweet and fun to watch.

There was also the Alcazar, which is a sort of castle vacation home thing surrounded by gardens. The castle part was closed that Sunday, but the gardens were lovely. Lots of roses and big, big trees and fountains... It was so lovely to look up the fountains and gardens and see the castle in the background. Some adorable old British people heard us trying to decide which two would get to be in a picture and offered to snap it for us. They asked where we were from, and we said California. Only cute little old British people would respond to that with 'Brilliant!' like they did. It was adorable.

We also ate pastries. It's the norm for Jim and I (when we travelled previously with Lauren and Aimee), and Kirstin was more than happy to join in on the tradition. It's such a nice pick-me-up after a day of walking around.

Our hostel wasn't that nice, but we were only there for one night and we had a warm shower and a bed, so we were fine. I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone else though.

This Saturday, Jim, Aimee, Sean and I are headed off for Cádiz! I'm very excited to get some beach before it gets too cold... but maybe we are too late.

In Granada, it gets SUPER cold at night and warm during the day... Such is the mountain fall I suppose.

Anyway, the library is closing, so I suppose I should be off.

I miss all of you! Contact me somehow whenever you get the chance! =)

Internet Troubles

Hey everyone!! I'm making this post to let you guys know that my internet is down indefinitely. I promise I'm not ignoring you and I am also definitely alive! But using the internet is very come-and-go and when it comes, it's never enough to post a blog. I'm actually in the computer lab in the library right now to post this.

Anyway, this week has been fairly uneventful, but things are getting busy with school. I have a group project and presentation due in December (which is a ways away, but it's a fairly big project), a short paper due in two weeks, and lots and lots of reading I need to catch up on.

This weekend, some friends and I were talking about heading to Córdoba. Then Cádiz the next weekend since it's a long one. I'm really looking forward to it! I love travelling on the weekends... and there is SO much to see right here in Southern Spain!

Anyway, I just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am alive... but my internet is not. Hopefully it's back when I get back home from the weekend.

¡Ciao!

Central Spain

Since I missed two classes today because I have a bit of a cold and wanted to get some rest, I figured I should fill you all in on my overall wonderful experience touring central Spain.

Wednesday night we decided we should take this "puente" to our advantage and see some more of Spain. There are many cool towns really close to Madrid, so, since Lauren has friends in Madrid and that was the only city with any rooms available over the weekend, we decided we would reserve our room for Thursday night and head to Madrid first thing Thursday morning.

Luckily, Kim was able to put some money into my backup bank account so I had the means to do this traveling. Thank you!

So we were off to Madrid. We got in pretty late, but we managed to walk around and see the main sights, the Puerta del Sol, the Plaza Mayor, the Palácio Real... no museums or anything, but the main historic sights in Madrid and eat some delicious, cheap paella. If you want to see Madrid proper-like, you'd need a few days, and we only had a few hours. We also met up with Lauren's friend and we all had a nice conversation before heading to bed because we had an early morning the next day. He also said he'd let us crash in his living room, since half of his roommates were going to be gone anyway and we couldn't find an open hostel for that night.

Next, we went to Toledo, the main Jewish area in Spain (although there aren't many Jews there, but there is a synagogue, and it may be reopening soon for practice). Toledo also felt really... medieval. I mean of course everything was old, but there it had a different kind of old feel than Granada, or even Madrid. Much smaller, more of a town. We also saw their main cathedral, historic bridges and arches, and ate mazapán (marzipan), a typical dessert of Toledo. We bought little mazapán roll things for Lauren's friend as a thank you. We went into a little place with a sign that said "Se vende mazapán" and were delighted to see two nuns and a younger girl (who we later found out was the niece to one of the nuns) selling their hand-crafted marzipan goodies. I mean, a thank-you dessert bought from nuns? How could anyone resist?

They were very sweet nuns.

And let me tell you, it RAINED in Toledo. I actually bought an umbrella and am very glad I did. I would have been soaked to the bone without it.

Then we went back to Lauren's friend's house in Madrid. We got Thai food, which was actually really good. Then, Lauren and him and a few more of his friends went dancing. Jim and I decided to hang out in his house with his Italian roommate and his 3 friends. I'm really glad I stayed. I'm not too into the dancing thing, and we learned an Italian card game that's kind of like war and hearts put together. It's called "Bríscola". I can't wait to teach Kevin how to play. I know he'd really like it. We went to sleep before Lauren and her friend and his friends got home.

I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible, horrible stomach pains and nausea. It felt like food poisoning, but whatever it was was already out of my stomach by the time I tried to throw it up (sorry for that...). After a couple of hours, I managed to go back to the living room and fall asleep, worried that I would have to hang out there and meet Lauren and Jim in Salamanca or find a way back to Granada or go to a doctor or something in the morning.

...but I woke up and felt much, much better, I'd say about 95%. So I decided to chance it, but watch what I eat the next day. I started with a croissant and tried to stick to bland food all day. I ended up being fine.

Anyway, then we were on a train bound for Segovia.

Segovia was quaint, to say the least. It was very small and VERY green. The palace there was big and beautiful, and the rooms inside were positively regal (it was a palace after all). The most striking thing, though, was easily the Roman aqueduct running through the middle of the town.

This aqueduct needs two tiers of arches because it's so tall, about 5 stories at least I would say. It's made out of dense gray stone that I think is a kind of granite. There is also no mortar in between the stones. Imagine, this thing has been up for thousands of years and has never fallen even without something as simple as mortar? I can't even fathom the technology they already had back in those times to make something last so perfectly for so long...

It was really fun there. We just looked at the aqueduct for at least an hour total. But alas, it had to end.

We also bought a box of Yemas, which they have all over central Spain, but are particularly famous in Segovia.

We went to go buy our bus tickets for Salamanca, where we had already booked two nights. However, the bus we wanted to take was already sold out from Ávila to Salamanca, so we would have to take the bus to Ávila and then buy tickets to Salamanca from there. We were annoyed, but didn't see much of an option, so we bought our tickets and then got a consolation café con leche (Fanta limón for me... didn't want to try coffee and milk for fear of upsetting my stomach again). Jim has a really handy Spain guide book, so we figured we'd look into what there was to do in Ávila. Aparently the oldest, best-preserved medieval city wall was there. We then figured the layover could be worse, and were off.

We all managed to sleep a good portion of that bus ride. We got to Ávila around 7 and our bus for Salamanca didn't leave until about 10, so we went off to see this old wall. It was a really cool town with the city center still completely enclosed by the wall. The Cathedral was beautiful, too. It seemed like a really ritzy kind of town, not as many tourists there we figured. There weren't too many fast food (or inexpensive food) joints except for one Doner Kebab place (schwarmas rule) that after wandering around for about two hours, we decided to go to to eat.

However, while in Ávila, we realized we didn't know the address or name of the hostel we had booked in Salamanca. So we searched for an internet café with, of course, no success. Without hostels and a college, why would you have internet cafés? We went into a hotel and asked if we could stand in the lobby to use the wifi on Lauren's computer. The receptionist looked confused, but didn't mind, so I took the liberty of explaining our situation to her. She was amused and let us actually use her computer. She was very happy to help us, and we made sure she knew "nos salvaste" (you saved us), and Lauren nearly shouted an appreciative "I LOVE NICE PEOPLE!" as we walked out.

Anyway after all that and after eating our Kebabs, we were on our bus to Salamanca.

The hostel there was easily the nicest we have stayed in. Ever. We got a 5-bed room to ourselves, a private bathroom, and the downstairs had a wide selection of muffins. The only thing I could complain about is their one, lonely, crappy computer, but we didn't spend much time on it.

Salamanca has a big, beautiful cathedral, a university, a Roman bridge, a perfectly square Plaza Mayor, and good tapas. But they also have a sense of humor. On the new part of the cathedral, in the artwork around the door, there is a hidden astronaut. He's my new favorite thing. On the artwork over the old University, there is a hidden frog sitting on a skull. He's not as cool in my opinion, but very culturally important I guess. This frog/skull combination is on almost all of the Salamanca souvenirs.

In Salamanca, their typical pastry is actually a meat pastry. It has pork loin, serrano ham, and bacon inside it. We got a small piece to try and it was surprisingly really, really good. We also went to a chocolatería and got some churros con "fancy" chocolate. I got Colómbia, which was coffee and chocolate. Lauren and Jim both got Maya, which was cinnamon and chocolate. It was really, really good... but not worth the price more than once. Next time, I'll keep it to simple chocolate.

The next day, we took a cab to the train station. It was actually about 15€ cheaper to go to Madrid THEN Granada than straight to Granada. So we opted for that route. It also meant we could train to Madrid, and trains are fun.

We allotted an hour and a half to get from the train station to the bus station, and managed to do so in about 50 minutes. We got a quick sandwich to eat on the bus, then ran to make sure we got on in time. By the time our sandwiches were made and we got downstairs and found our bus (the Madrid bus station is HUGE), we had about 5 minutes before we left. Perfect timing!

And now here I am, back in Granada, nursing a cold that I woke up with yesterday. It's a sore throat/cough combo that has been going around... it was only a matter of time before I got it really. But I'm drinking plenty of tea and had soup for lunch, and skipped my morning classes, opting for rest. I should be rarin' to go tomorrow. I hope.

I was also pleasantly greeted with my BofA debit card upon my return. I'm no longer without access to my money! I will pay back the UC Study Center today, and Lauren, since without her, I never would have gotten home from Lisbon.

Jim took plenty of pictures that I hope I get access to soon to share with you guys. I am still patiently waiting for my new camera to arrive here. Thank you so much, Adriana, you're the best sister a girl could ever hope her brother would marry!!!

I believe the storm has passed and there won't be too much more rain, if any at all, but I hope it warms up a bit... it's not even supposed to hit 70 today. And the rain is supposed to return tomorrow. How will I ever get better!?!?

The Spanish Workweek

So we finally had our first undisturbed week of class...

... and we now have a four-day weekend!!! =D

I'll be traveling to Madrid and Salamanca with Lauren, Kirsten, and Jim. I can't wait to tell you about it when I get back!

I wish I had something to blog about, but the week in and of itself has been pretty uneventful. Just full of classes. I decided to drop out of "Spanish Constitutional Rights." It was a very interesting class, but I just couldn't keep up with the Spanish legal lingo. I think I'll keep my remaining 5 classes, but if I do decide to drop another one, it will for sure be "Rural Sociology."

So for now, I bid you adieu, and I will be back in Granada early on Tuesday! Ciao!

Contact me! =)

While I have already sent out an email to family, I figured I should post these things here in case one of you crazy people that follows this wants to get in touch with me!

My mailing address:
C/Acera del Triunfo, 9, 4 IZQ
Granada, España 18001

Please keep it to letters and, if you feel the absolute need, SMALL packages. Remember, I need to repack whatever I have eventually in a way that I can take it back on the plane. Plus, if it gets too big, it could get stuck in Madrid for me to somehow have to go pick up.

My phone number:
+34 633 256 776

It is free for me to receive texts. Yes, even the international kind. I have no idea what that will do to your bill, however, so you might want to keep it minimal. It costs me 0.10€ per text as well, so don't expect to have a full-on conversation over texts please. If you just have a little something you want to tell me or if there's an emergency, though, feel free to use it =).

The most effective/efficient way(s) to contact me are email/facebook messages. If you have facebook, friend me! If you don't, my email is:
ncovate@ucsd.edu

I'm on Skype whenever I am home. Calling is a bit finicky on my internet, but the chat usually works. My Skype name:
natalie.covate

Additionally, you can comment on this blog. I don't really respond, though, so if there's something you need a response to, please email me.

I check facebook and email daily (except when I'm travelling, then it's just when the opportunity presents itself) and I will reply as soon as I receive a message.

I love hearing from home and I like knowing what all is going on and how you guys are doing! Please don't hesitate to contact me for any reason, I can always make a couple of minutes to read and write a quick email.

Hope to hear from you soon! You all now have no excuses... XD

Things I wish I could have taken pictures of:

As anyone who has ever walked any European streets can tell you, if you want to drive a car, you have to not have any particular attachment to your bumper. They are bumped. Frequently. By other bumpers.

Today, I saw a line of cars parked with little more than an inch and a half separating them. I wish I had a camera so I could prove I'm not exaggerating.

As I was walking around town, I walked past an entrance to a church with a bunch of trampled rose petals and rice leading in. The residue of the happy start of a couple's new life together made me smile. I wish I had a picture of it.

Luckily, I do have a webcam on my computer, so I could take a picture of this:

That's me pretending to sleep on my new bed! I love my sheet set (you can see the pattern on the pillow). Cheap too! 15€ for a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and a pillow case. I'm also under my new blanket. It's fleecy and warm, and the pattern I think is homey-looking. It's green, too, which is both my Chris's and my sister's favorite color. And for only 9€... How could I possibly say no?

I love my room. It's big, the bed is comfortable, and it's very... tranquil. Whoever lived here last also left a bunch of pictures that I just so happen to like on the wardrobe, so it even feels personalized.

Next week promises to be a busy one... My full schedule of classes will actually start. And probably quite a bit of note-taking and reading as well.

Once I pick my one or two classes to drop it won't feel so crazy I hope.

Getting the ball rolling

I am completely moved and settled into my new piso! It's pretty nice. Nothing really fancy, but the room is very big and I get internet, so I'm not complaining. I also figured out how to work the hot water, which means I can now shower in comfort. Bread, butter, and jam has also become my snack/breakfast of choice. Mostly because a baguette (barra de pan) only costs 0.45€. Also because it is really tasty and reminds me of our bread and jam breakfast at the Residencia.

Although I'm happy to get real life moving and started, I do miss my life at the Residencia. I miss having a private bathroom (which I know I probably won't have again until I have a house and a master suite... which won't be for a long time...) and I miss going downstairs to a cafeteria full of friends. I do keep in touch with my American friends, maybe even more than I should. But for now, it's comforting to know I have a handful of people I can rely on.

I hope to start making some Spanish friends next week. We'll see how that goes...

I also have (sort of) officially started classes!!!

The reason I say "sort of" is because there was no class on Monday and Wednesday there were strictly-reduced classes due to a general strike. I only have class Monday through Thursday, so... I guess I had like half of a week of class.

But really, I have begun taking classes in Spanish with Spaniards and Spanish professors!

Currently, I have 6 classes. I must remain in at least 4 of them. I have until October 15th to weigh them out and figure out which 4 I want to keep. My classes are as follows (I'll put the titles in English):

Spanish Political System
Spanish Political Process
Spanish Constitutional Rights
Sociology of Religion
Rural Sociology
Advanced Grammar (It's a Spanish grammar class specifically for California students. I figured it would be useful).

Since it was the first week and the week was very interrupted, classes were very basic. The professors introduced themselves, talked about their syllabuses, asked if they had any foreign students and if we understood (they all did that... I haven never had an American professor ask that before. Interesting...), and mentioned if there was a book(s) we needed to (or should) buy.

It was nice to get into a real regimen, or to at least peek at how my real regimen will be when classes really start next week.

In other news, Beverly will be here from Córdoba to hang out with me tonight and tomorrow morning! Which means I should actually buy a blanket for my bed... it's cold in my room.

It will be nice seeing her. I miss my San Diego friends.

I suppose even that is part of the experience.